App Name: Wikitude Drive Beta , Mobilizy GmbH
Description: Mobilizy created this app as an augmented reality navigation app. It takes the 3d map and overlays it on an image fed directly from the camera on your phone. The idea is to take the 3d road and overlay it directly on the road ahead.
How it works: Download, install, search for an address and you are on your way.
Opinion: It’s a neat idea I agree with the though process behind it. However for me it is more of a novelty than truly useful. But that isn’t the point of an app review. While in theory this is a great idea the images I’ve added will show that this really isn’t as wonderful in practice. For this to work the phone has to be facing exactly forward. This simply isn’t ergonomically correct. When I mount the phone it is always off to my right on the dashboard or windshield. that means I have to turn the phone slightly to face me. This leaves the 3d road angled well off center of the road and running out into nowhere. so this really isn’t all that useful to me. If they can come up with a way to correct that (which would be tough) it could prove useful. I realize this is a beta but I’ll be tough on the app from here. As far as i can tell, It only supports the metric scale, not helpful at all in the US. Second the TTS system is not great at all in recognizing road names, and it says things such as, “In 400 meters Drive right on Michael B.L.V.D then drive left” It speaks the letters rather than saying “boulevard”. This a very minor sample of some of the TTS issues i have come across. It also has no search, you have to know the exact address. GPS accuracy isn’t great if you aren’t moving sometimes it has no idea what to do. Again this is a beta, and a neat idea, but Google Navigation with satellite and street-view would be used much more than this by me.
Ratings :
· Speed (4/5) – The app was fairly fast, no real complaints
· Features (2/5) – very slim on features, the only real feature is the AR feature.
· Theme (3/5) – Decent, clean, but very slim
· Overall (3/5) – no major bugs, fairly fast, and does overly above the camera image.
Pro: Neat idea using the camera and overlaying the Map.
Cons: the way the phone must be positioned for it to look right. lack of search, poor TTS and vocal directions, metric only.
Conclusion: Great Idea, and a decent start, but leaves a lot to be desired to be successful as a usable navigation app when it is released. And I really can’t see the point except to impress your friends after I used it for a while.
Bar Code: Limited beta.
App Authors Email: [email protected]